Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

OpenStreetMap VS Geocode Earth

Compare OpenStreetMap VS Geocode Earth and see what are their differences

OpenStreetMap logo OpenStreetMap

OpenStreetMap is a map of the world, created by people like you and free to use under an open license.

Geocode Earth logo Geocode Earth

Build smarter location experiences with our fast, accurate & affordable geocoding solutions.
  • OpenStreetMap Cover Photo
    Cover Photo //
    2024-01-08
  • Geocode Earth Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-06-24

Geocode Earth provide quality Address Autocomplete, Reverse Geocoding & Place Geocoding solutions to small-to-medium sized businesses.

The company is run by the team behind the popular open-source geocoding engine Pelias, they are committed to preserving User Privacy and have been publishing Open Source GIS software since 2014.

Discounts are available for non-profit, academic & open-source projects

OpenStreetMap

Pricing URL
-
$ Details
Platforms
-
Release Date
-

Geocode Earth

$ Details
paid Free Trial $100.0 / Monthly
Platforms
REST API Browser JavaScript Node JS
Release Date
2018 January

OpenStreetMap features and specs

  • Open Source
    OpenStreetMap (OSM) is an open-source project, allowing free access to map data and the ability to contribute and modify the maps. This encourages widespread collaboration and innovation.
  • Up-to-date Information
    Due to its large community of contributors, OSM often has up-to-date and detailed information, especially in urban areas. Users can quickly add new roads, businesses, and other updates.
  • Customization
    Users have the flexibility to customize maps for specific needs, such as creating specialized maps for hiking, cycling, or public transportation.
  • Global Coverage
    OSM offers extensive global coverage, which can be especially useful in regions where commercial map services might be limited or outdated.
  • Ethical and Transparent
    Being community-driven and open, OSM provides a more ethical choice compared to commercial alternatives that may have hidden data collection practices.

Possible disadvantages of OpenStreetMap

  • Data Quality Variability
    The quality and detail of the data can vary significantly between different regions depending on the number and expertise of local contributors.
  • Learning Curve
    For new users, especially those unfamiliar with GIS (Geographic Information System) concepts, there can be a learning curve to effectively use and contribute to OSM.
  • Lack of Professional Support
    Unlike commercial map services, OSM does not offer professional customer support, which can be a disadvantage for businesses requiring reliable assistance.
  • Potential for Inaccuracies
    As a crowd-sourced project, there is a potential for inaccuracies or vandalism, which might not be immediately corrected.
  • Performance
    Some users may experience slower performance when loading large datasets or using complex features, due to reliance on third-party servers and tools.

Geocode Earth features and specs

  • Address Autocomplete
  • Places Autocomplete
  • Reverse Geocoding
  • Structured Geocoding
  • Batch Geocoding
  • Geocoding API
  • Address Interpolation
  • Street Intersections
  • ZIP Code Geocoding
  • OpenStreetMap Data
  • Geonames Data
  • US Census Data

Analysis of OpenStreetMap

Overall verdict

  • OpenStreetMap is widely regarded as a valuable resource due to its open-data approach, community-driven updates, and versatility. It is an excellent choice for those who need customizable, up-to-date maps and prefer open-source solutions.

Why this product is good

  • OpenStreetMap (OSM) is good because it is a collaborative project that provides freely accessible and editable map data. It is powered by a large community of volunteers who continually update and refine the information, ensuring that it remains current and comprehensive. The data from OSM can be used for various applications such as navigation, analysis, and even gaming, thanks to its open licensing (ODbL). It encourages innovation and accessibility, allowing developers and organizations to create and customize maps without the restrictions typically associated with proprietary alternatives.

Recommended for

  • Developers seeking open-source map data for applications
  • Organizations looking for customizable and cost-effective mapping solutions
  • Individuals interested in contributing to open data projects
  • Researchers conducting spatial analysis
  • Anyone needing access to worldwide map data without licensing fees

OpenStreetMap videos

OpenStreetMap: The map that saves lives | CNBC International

More videos:

  • Review - Switching away from Google Maps : Here Maps, Bing Maps, OpenStreetMap...
  • Review - OpenStreetMap Download / Installation On Garmin Edge 520 GPS Device. Bike Computer

Geocode Earth videos

Address Autocomplete

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to OpenStreetMap and Geocode Earth)
Maps
91 91%
9% 9
Web Mapping
92 92%
8% 8
Geocoding
0 0%
100% 100
Travel & Location
100 100%
0% 0

Questions and Answers

As answered by people managing OpenStreetMap and Geocode Earth.

What's the story behind your product?

Geocode Earth's answer:

Geocode Earth was founded after the core geocoding team left Mapzen after its shutdown in 2017. After years of building open-source geocoding software, we knew we had the expertice and connections to build better geocoding for everyone.

User comments

Share your experience with using OpenStreetMap and Geocode Earth. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare OpenStreetMap and Geocode Earth

OpenStreetMap Reviews

7 Alternatives to Google Maps for Navigation
OpenStreetMap (OSM) is a free, open-source, community-driven mapping and navigation app. OSM was created in 2005. It has grown to include a global mapping community with activists and thousands of volunteers.
18 Top Google Places API Alternatives for Points of Interest Data in 2022
OpenStreetMap offers a free, open-source map of the world with which you can access information about businesses, transport and points of interest. Planet OSM is a feature of OpenStreetMap that lets you extract millions of points of interest for free.
Source: traveltime.com
Top 15 Google Maps Alternatives (2024 Edition)
Maps.me is an open-source mobile-only service and an excellent alternative to Google Maps. It uses the OpenStreetMap database and helps you download maps to use them offline. Therefore, you can save a lot on your mobile data if you use this service.
9 Google Maps Alternatives to Use in 2022
OpenStreetMap is a simple web mapping tool stuffed with all the features you would expect with any web mapping service. The vivid maps explain different layers, help in accurate route planning, and provide cycling and walking routes.
Source: geekflare.com
Top 5 Open-Source Google Maps Alternatives in 2022
Last but not least, Qwant Map is one of those Google Maps alternatives that is open source and free. Just like Google Maps, this interactive maps software offers rich search capabilities. In addition, you can search for places such as restaurants, hotels, markets, and more. Moreover, it lets you search for nearby places by tracking your location. Qwant Map is based on...

Geocode Earth Reviews

18 Top Google Places API Alternatives for Points of Interest Data in 2022
Geocode Earth offers location data, geocoding and content localisation features. You can use these to Add geographic search features to your website or app. Since its service uses open data, you can store search results within your own database.
Source: traveltime.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, OpenStreetMap seems to be a lot more popular than Geocode Earth. While we know about 129 links to OpenStreetMap, we've tracked only 6 mentions of Geocode Earth. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

OpenStreetMap mentions (129)

  • Waterway Map
    You can go to https://openstreetmap.org/ , zoom in and enable the map data layer. From there history is accessible. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Bike rack capacity
    Hi! I am working on a project mapping bike racks around my city on OpenStreetMap. One of the attributes that I tag is the rack's capacity, but I haven't come to a conclusion about the capacity of these wave-shaped racks:. Source: over 1 year ago
  • Get full name of a admin unit in a admin unit hierarchy like Brooklyn, Kings County, New York, United States of America
    I need the bounding boxes of all adminstrative units in a specific region from the largest (e.g. The state) to the smallest (whatever this is called) including the full name of the district. What I mean by that is what is displayed on openstreetmap.org when I search for e.g. Brooklyn: it will be displayed in the search results as "Brooklyn, Kings County, New York, United States of America" – the names joined from... Source: over 1 year ago
  • Protomaps – A free and open source map of the world
    It's OpenStreetMap (ODbL) and Natural Earth (public domain) currently * http://openstreetmap.org * http://naturalearthdata.com. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Coffee Decor Pikmin
    Pikmin Bloom sources Decor locations from OpenStreetMap, it’s not always 100%, but it’s close enough. Source: over 1 year ago
View more

Geocode Earth mentions (6)

  • Geocoding APIs compared: Pricing, free tiers and terms of use
    Geocoding is a really fun (and sometimes frustrating) problem I've been lucky enough to have been working to solve for over 10 years now. I joined Mapzen in 2015 which ostensibly was part of a Samsung startup accelerator, but looking back, it's more descriptive to say it was an open-source mapping software R&D lab. We built what is now foundational open-source geospatial tools like the Pelias geocoder (my team)... - Source: Hacker News / about 1 month ago
  • Serverless maps at 1/700 the cost of Google Maps API
    As the developer of this system, I concur with this; Protomaps is focused on map tiles, and can be used with other solutions such as http://geocode.earth for search. A small detail: I don't believe this is the absolute cheapest way to deliver map tiles. Renting an unmetered bandwidth server is always going to be the cheapest way to host content, but unmanaged servers don't give you SSL termination, infinite... - Source: Hacker News / about 2 years ago
  • Is there a free version / alternative of google places api?
    The honest truth is that google places is simply the best in the world, and the 2nd place is far behind. that's probably foursquare. After that, mapbox, then mapquest, then https://geocode.earth/. All of those are paid. Source: about 3 years ago
  • Mantle – Serverless Maps Using Lambda or Cloudflare Workers
    The stack I describe in the post is only for map tiles - Map tiles are a good fit for CDNs because the input space is small (just Z/X/Y coordinates on a square grid) and thus very cacheable. Geocoding is a very different problem because the input space - human language - is much, much larger, and answering queries quickly to support features like autocomplete really requires a server with hot data in memory. One... - Source: Hacker News / about 3 years ago
  • Positionstack (by APILayer) Geocoding-API down for over 14 days, with no ETA
    If anyone comes across this looking for an alternative, we can help at Geocode Earth (https://geocode.earth). We're a small independent company that has been working on geocoding since 2013, first as part of Mapzen(https://mapzen.com), and then with our own self-funded business after Mapzen shut down at the start of 2018. Our core software, the Pelias Geocoder (https://pelias.io) is open source, and ironically we... - Source: Hacker News / over 3 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing OpenStreetMap and Geocode Earth, you can also consider the following products

Google Maps - Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.

OsmAnd - Global mobile map viewing and navigation for online and offline OSM maps

Algolia Places - Intelligent address autocomplete for any <input>

Mapbox - An open source mapping platform for custom designed maps. Our APIs and SDKs are the building blocks to integrate location into any mobile or web app.

Apple Maps - Maps features an all-new design with smart features to make finding and getting to your destination easier than ever.

HERE Geocoding - Sign up for access to HERE Location Services APIs. Free trial of all JS and REST APIs. Transaction and services overview.